Mom set example with attitude, work ethic

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By Jerry Vondas

Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, 12:01 a.m.

Throughout the Mon Valley, Emma Gevaudan was known as a woman whose work ethic inspired her family and friends to achieve their goals in life, said her son, Robert Gevaudan.

She was also admired for her warm personality, especially when she was hostess at the Pasta Piatta in Shadyside, whose customers included many professionals connected with the area's hospitals and businesses.

Emma J. Wagner Gevaudan, formerly of North Braddock and East Pittsburgh, died on Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Elder Crest Nursing Center in Munhall. She was 93.

Born in Braddock and raised in North Braddock, Mrs. Gevaudan was the daughter of machinist John Wagner and his wife, Sophie. She graduated from Scott High School in 1937.

“My mother married my father two years later and through the years held a number of jobs in her hometown, such as working at the East Pittsburgh plant of Westinghouse Electric Corp. during World War II,” said Robert Gevaudan.

Mrs. Gevaudan later was employed by well-known businesses in Braddock that included Holland Drug Store, Och's delicatessen and restaurant and Woolworth's. She also worked for Swiss Park Floral in Swissvale for a number of years.

“My mother loved working with flowers and plants,” her son added. “She also had a sense of direction and while in her 60s, she made deliveries.”

In her later years, said her son, Mrs. Gevaudan enjoyed crocheting, bowling and being with her grandchildren. “My mother would load her car with her grandchildren and take them to a Pirate ball game,” said Gevaudan.

She is survived by nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Gevaudan was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Gevaudan, in 1975; her sons, Raymond and Regis Gevaudan, and her brothers, John and Joseph Wagner.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday in Sacred Heart Church, Good Shepherd Parish in Braddock. Arrangements are being handled by Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home, 700 Linden Ave., East Pittsburgh.

Jerry Vondas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7823 or jvondas@tribweb.com.

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